Bridesmaids Beat up Priest at Box Office

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

Despite the release of two new movies in wide release, Marvel Studios’ Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston, remained in first place with an estimated $34.5 million, down roughly 48% from its opening weekend and bringing its North American total to $119.2 million. Internationally, the comic book adaptation added $27.5 million from 60 countries to bring its foreign total to $225 million. Thor has now reached $344.2 million worldwide.

Opening in a strong second place was Paul Feig’s R-rated comedy Bridesmaids (Universal), starring Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, with an estimated $24.4 million in just over 2,900 theaters, averaging over $8,300 per site. Produced by Judd Apatow for a reported $32.5 million, the raunchy female-targeted comedy opened with $7.8 million on Friday, then saw a bump on Saturday to $10.7 million. With a CinemaScore of B+ (similar to Apatow’s second film Knocked Up), it should be expected to have a strong run over the summer.

Universal’s other summer hit Fast Five starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster dropped to third place with $19.5 million and $168.8 million grossed domestically in three weekends. The Justin Lin-directed action movie was also the #1 movie worldwide for a third weekend in a row, grossing another $77.5 million in 63 countries to bring its total worldwide gross to $440.5 million! Universal had its second-biggest opening in China where it opened at #1 with $8.5 million in 1,500 locations, four times the opening of Fast & Furious.

Screen Gems’ long-delayed action thriller Priest, starring Paul Bettany, opened weakly domestically with just $14.5 million in 2,864 theaters to take fourth place. Delayed in order to convert the movie into 3D, it opened weaker than Scott Stewart’s debut Legion last January. Internationally, the film opened to $16.7 million in 46 countries for an overseas total of $25.6 million.

20th Century Fox’s animated comedy Rio remained in fifth place with roughly $8 million and a five-week domestic gross of $125 million. The hit film added $10.4 million internationally and reached a foreign total of $306.3 million. Its worldwide total now stands at $431.3 million.

The other two wedding-related comedies, Sony/TriStar’s ensemble comedy Jumping the Broom and the Ginnifer Goodwin-Kate Hudson rom-com Something Borrowed (Warner Bros.), took sixth and seventh places with $7.3 million and $7 million, respectively. They both have grossed roughly $26 million in their first ten days.

20th Century Fox’s romantic drama Water for Elephants, starring Reese Witherspoon and Rob Pattinson, dropped to eighth place with $4.1 million and $48.4 million after four weeks in theaters. The film placed fifth overseas with $9.1 million and has earned $34 million internationally.

The Top 10 grossed roughly $122 million this weekend, down roughly 6% from last year when Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood (Universal), starring Russell Crowe, took second place with $36 million to Iron Man 2‘s sophomore weekend take of $52 million.

Opening in limited release into 218 theaters, the Will Ferrell drama Everything Must Go (Roadside Attractions), directed by Dan Rush, brought in $740 thousand, roughly $3,300 per site. Spencer Susser’s Sundance favorite Hesher (Wrekin Hall), starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, scored $127 thousand in 40 venues, while the Latin dance movie Go For It! did $110 thousand in three times as many theaters. The biggest disappointment may have been the ensemble drama Skateland (Freestyle Releasing), which only made $5,165 in two theaters in New York.